Beware of the Explorer suite on Viking

[Drl75]

Just back from the Rhine River Cruise on Viking.  We traveled in the Explorer suite on the Viking Baldur.  My husband and I couldn’t sleep because of the extremely loud noise coming from the engine and the constant vibrating of the room.  The room shook so bad, it could make some people sick.  The noise came from the engines.  The most expensive room on the ship is over the engines !!!!  I will never go on a Viking ship again!

[VistaRio]

Which ship?

[Hoyaheel]

1 minute ago, VistaRio said:

Which ship?

 

11 hours ago, Drl75 said:

We traveled in the Explorer suite on the Viking Baldur. 

 

Answered in the post....

[dogs4fun]

Sorry to hear about your experience. I am sure this was a big disappointment especially at the price of the suite.

I believe that the noise issue in the explorer suites differs from ship to ship. We booked the Viking Emerald's explorer suite in 2017 (China) and experienced no engine noise whatsoever as our suite was on the 3rd deck situated over the bridge. It is a good idea to determine the location of the engine and location of the suite before booking as I, too, have heard of problems with engine noise on some of the ships. 

[MarkTapley]

2 hours ago, dogs4fun said:

 

I believe that the noise issue in the explorer suites differs from ship to ship. 

 

Yes, this is true.  However, I believe it is a common problem on the Viking “longships”, which dominate the popular Viking Europe cruises.

 

Several years ago, when the longship design had just been rolled out by VR, we had drinks in an Explorer Suite with acquaintances from the cruise and the people who had booked the suite were very vocal about the noise from the engines directly below the suite.  So it’s been an issue for quite a while.

[VistaRio]

23 hours ago, Hoyaheel said:

 

 

Answered in the post....

 

Not sure how I missed that.  😜

[Viking Cruises]

Dear @Drl75

 

Welcome home! We sincerely regret to hear that your sleep was interrupted by engine noise, and are interested in discussing your experience in further detail. If you haven’t already connected with us, please email TellUs@VikingCruises.com with your booking number so that we can arrange personalized contact. 

 

We hope to hear from you soon, Drl75, and wish you a lovely day.

 

Kind regards,
Viking Cruises
 

On 4/20/2019 at 7:12 PM, Drl75 said:

Just back from the Rhine River Cruise on Viking.  We traveled in the Explorer suite on the Viking Baldur.  My husband and I couldn’t sleep because of the extremely loud noise coming from the engine and the constant vibrating of the room.  The room shook so bad, it could make some people sick.  The noise came from the engines.  The most expensive room on the ship is over the engines !!!!  I will never go on a Viking ship again!

 

[Coral]

2 hours ago, Viking Cruises said:

Dear @Drl75

 

Welcome home! We sincerely regret to hear that your sleep was interrupted by engine noise, and are interested in discussing your experience in further detail. If you haven’t already connected with us, please email TellUs@VikingCruises.com with your booking number so that we can arrange personalized contact. 

 

We hope to hear from you soon, Drl75, and wish you a lovely day.

 

Kind regards,
Viking Cruises

Some of us would like to know if this is a known issue with this specific Suite on all of the Long Ships?

[beanpittsburgh]

I can't afford the Explorer Suite anyways so not a problem for me.  Sorry for your experience though.

[dogs4fun]

16 hours ago, Coral said:

Some of us would like to know if this is a known issue with this specific Suite on all of the Long Ships?

Well, from the posts I have read describing the noise, I will never book the suite on a long ship - at the price of the suite, I simply would not risk it.

[pontac]

17 hours ago, Coral said:

Some of us would like to know if this is a known issue with this specific Suite on all of the Long Ships?

 

 

The Viking website has deck plans of their boats, so those who have already booked - or about to book - can see where each individual room is.

 

The long ships I have been on all have the Explorer Suites (2 of them) at the rear of the boat. This is in order, I assume, to give a large balcony at the stern (the only space available), that also wraps round the side. Looking at the plan one can see the two suites are separated by the ships funnel and as it's at the stern it should be no surprise it's above the engine room.

 

I suppose the amount being above the engines affects people is how noisy the negines on a particular  boat are, how hard they have to work - I guess going upriver against the flow they must work harder than going down river, when the boat is cruising and whether guests are in their suite when cruising. Oh, and their hearing. My SO can't hear low level noise so she wouldn't be affected.

 

If Viking care to upgrade us to an Explorer Suite on our June trip I will be very happy to give a full report here 😍

[kentchris]

1 hour ago, dogs4fun said:

Well, from the posts I have read describing the noise, I will never book the suite on a long ship - at the price of the suite, I simply would not risk it.

And yet when OP started a thread about Explorer Suites nearly a year ago, the only response from anyone who'd actually cruised in one didn't mention noise at all. There are plenty of other posts from people who didn't suffer (or at least report) any noise issues in the suites. Peoples' sensitivity to noise or other night-time distractions, and how they grumble about it or not, vary a great deal so I certainly wouldn't write off the Explorer Suites as an option if I could stretch my budget that far. From my experience on Viking River I'd be very surprised if the designers had had a brain-fade when they got to the most expensive accommodation.

 

I'm with Pontac on this one - I'm just about to make final payment on my July trip and would be very happy if the upgrade fairy were to move me a couple of doors aft from where I'm booked...

Edited April 23, 2019 by kentchris

[Host Jazzbeau]

28 minutes ago, kentchris said:

And yet when OP started a thread about Explorer Suites nearly a year ago, the only response from anyone who'd actually cruised in one didn't mention noise at all. There are plenty of other posts from people who didn't suffer (or at least report) any noise issues in the suites. Peoples' sensitivity to noise or other night-time distractions, and how they grumble about it or not, vary a great deal so I certainly wouldn't write off the Explorer Suites as an option if I could stretch my budget that far. From my experience on Viking River I'd be very surprised if the designers had had a brain-fade when they got to the most expensive accommodation.

 

I'm with Pontac on this one - I'm just about to make final payment on my July trip and would be very happy if the upgrade fairy were to move me a couple of doors aft from where I'm booked...

 

I find that ship designers generally take the Tom Sawyer approach:  put the most expensive cabins in the least desirable spots and convince people to pay extra for the privilege!  Note that the noisy areas underneath pool areas are almost always expensive suites.  So this wasn't a 'brain-fade' but standard industry practice.

[Coral]

3 hours ago, dogs4fun said:

Well, from the posts I have read describing the noise, I will never book the suite on a long ship - at the price of the suite, I simply would not risk it.

Nor would I. I just wanted Viking to answer.

[Drl75]

5 hours ago, pontac said:

 

 

The Viking website has deck plans of their boats, so those who have already booked - or about to book - can see where each individual room is.

 

The long ships I have been on all have the Explorer Suites (2 of them) at the rear of the boat. This is in order, I assume, to give a large balcony at the stern (the only space available), that also wraps round the side. Looking at the plan one can see the two suites are separated by the ships funnel and as it's at the stern it should be no surprise it's above the engine room.

 

I suppose the amount being above the engines affects people is how noisy the negines on a particular  boat are, how hard they have to work - I guess going upriver against the flow they must work harder than going down river, when the boat is cruising and whether guests are in their suite when cruising. Oh, and their hearing. My SO can't hear low level noise so she wouldn't be affected.

 

If Viking care to upgrade us to an Explorer Suite on our June trip I will be very happy to give a full report here 😍

I can assure you that I am not over sensitive to noise.  What we experienced was extreme, loud and disturbing.  I’ve been on over 30 ocean cruises and this is the first time I’ve written any type of review on any ship or cruise line.  It may be isolated to only some of their ships, but I find it unconscionable that noise of that level should exist on any ship of any cabin level.  My reason for posting my experience was to alert any other travelers of something I wish I had known.  I suppose if you’re upgraded for free to a suite with brutal noise and vibrations, then you likely may not feel as strongly as someone that paid top dollar for the luxury of a suite.  Nevertheless, I hope that at least I have made someone aware that the Explorer suite may not be worth the price.

[zitsky]

19 hours ago, Drl75 said:

I can assure you that I am not over sensitive to noise.  What we experienced was extreme, loud and disturbing.  I’ve been on over 30 ocean cruises and this is the first time I’ve written any type of review on any ship or cruise line.  It may be isolated to only some of their ships, but I find it unconscionable that noise of that level should exist on any ship of any cabin level.  My reason for posting my experience was to alert any other travelers of something I wish I had known.  I suppose if you’re upgraded for free to a suite with brutal noise and vibrations, then you likely may not feel as strongly as someone that paid top dollar for the luxury of a suite.  Nevertheless, I hope that at least I have made someone aware that the Explorer suite may not be worth the price.

 

Thank you for posting this.  Sorry about your experience.  I am glad you are warning people.

[VistaRio]

We have been reading so much about this terrible noise issue in the ES on the Longships.  I just want to publicly state that I will be willing to suffer through it on my next Longship cruise, which is already booked.  If Viking needs to fill these undesirable rooms, I will reluctantly accept an upgrade from my Veranda A.

 

😏  

[kentchris]

On 4/23/2019 at 5:16 PM, Host Jazzbeau said:

 So this wasn't a 'brain-fade' but standard industry practice.

That really doesn't add up: if there's a generic problem with Viking's Longship Explorer Suites then every mention by past pax on this forum ought to include a mention of the 'brutal noise and vibrations' that OP complains about. Only a few report any issues at all, so do you think the ones who don't say anything are too embarrassed to admit they paid top price for an inferior experience? 

[VistaRio]

@kentchris, that is precisely the question I have been trying to answer.

[Host Jazzbeau]

2 hours ago, kentchris said:

That really doesn't add up: if there's a generic problem with Viking's Longship Explorer Suites then every mention by past pax on this forum ought to include a mention of the 'brutal noise and vibrations' that OP complains about. Only a few report any issues at all, so do you think the ones who don't say anything are too embarrassed to admit they paid top price for an inferior experience? 

 

Many things in the world don't 'add up' for me, so this is nothing new!   

 

The earlier post that these suites are positioned where they are in order to get the wrap-around balconies is another good theory.  But I have noticed that whenever I study ship deck plans, the high rent suites so often tend to be placed in what I consider the less desirable locations.  So that's another theory.  Is either right?  Or both?  For that you'd need to have been a fly on the wall when they were designing the first longship.  

 

Why haven't we heard about this before?–how many posts on this forum have been from passengers in an Explorer Suite?  But if you look in the Viking River catalog, there is only one deck plan for ALL the long ships, which implies that they are all the same.  The two Explorer Suites (located on the Upper Deck) are the only passenger cabins at the extreme rear of the ship.  They are several decks above the engines, but the spaces below them on the Middle Deck and the Main Deck are blank boxes.  I have no idea what's there (crew cabins, storage?).  

 

Normally I would expect that two full decks of buffer would protect the Explorer Suites from the noise, but engine noise travels through structure as well as air.  Based on my experience sailing and sussing out deck plans and with these reports, I would avoid the Explorer Suites.  

 

The Veranda Suites look quite spacious enough [but back to my first point, notice that they are directly below the Walking Track].  My mantra in choosing a cabin is:  cabins to the right of us, cabins to the left of us, cabins across from us, cabins above us, cabins below us.  

[VistaRio]

Good points.

 

Regards the "walking tracks" :   I don't think they are generally used as such, and I certainly have no concerns with that aspect.  Most passengers on these ships get their daily fill and more without the need to walk around in "ovals" while on the boat.  Having only stayed on level 3 ... I never heard noise from above.

[gnome12]

Since there are so many longships, and they all have their Explorer Suites at the rear, I wonder whether the engine on the OPs ship was not working well, thus was running much more noisily than usual.

 

That said, my own noise issue happened on Uniworld, where I was on the lowest deck at the bow. I found that the bow thrusters that help maneuver into locks were very noisy, and woke me up on a number of occasions. I have never heard anyone else complain about that noise either.

[FuelScience]

I'll just add a couple of words. I'm hesitant to post since I've never sailed in Viking's Explorer Suite, but it may be worthwhile for me to mention our recent experience on the Royal Emerald, the former Scenic Emerald. The ship was leased by Teeming for our cruise. We splurged and got one of the two Panorama Suites. These rooms are on the top level on the back of the ship like Viking's Explorer Suites. 

 

Due to previous complaints, the ship owner completely refurbished the suites to deal with the vibration and noise issues. We didn't think the refurb was successful, and we were moved to a suite mid-ship so that we didn't have to deal with the noise.

 

We used the dB Meter app on my wife's iPhone to measure the noise level. In our Panorama Suite the noise level averaged about 67dB while underway, ranging from 65 dB to 72 dB. In the Royal Suite mid-ship, the noise level measured about 40dB. We also measured the noise level with the engines off, and it was 35 dB. 

 

The noise level was worse on some nights than others. The captain said that water depth was a significant factor in noise level due to sound and vibrations bouncing off the river bottom. If that's true, it might explain why some people noticed the vibrations more than others. 

[notamermaid]

FuelScience,

 

I was thinking of your recent report on the noise level on the Royal Emerald and was wondering if it is indeed a kind of "natural occurence" at the aft of the ship when the engine is there, i.e. something that is not easily rectified. On my cruise I was in the "middle of everything" but even I noticed a noise that sounded like someone showering. It lasted for hours and while it did not disturb me, I wanted to know what is was, just in case it needed seeing to. I was reassured it was caused by how the ship sails over what ground, i.e. sand, gravel or stone and how close it is to the hull. So, indeed, noise can differ from ship to ship and where it sails. How hard the engine has to work will also play a part, of course.

 

notamermaid

 

[Phillygirl3]

From the time we booked our cruise in an Explorer Suite, I had trepidations regarding the one or two posts that I read regarding noise levels.  We decided that we would take a chance in that some people may be more sensitive to noise than others.  In fact we have slept using a white noise machine for many years.  Well the Explorer Suite was noisy--it was fine while we were cruising more slowly during the day but since most of our cruising occurred at night, we had quite a bit of engine noise and some vibration, particularly going through the numerous locks--you could hear the thrusters (engine?) adjusting to the progress of getting to, through and out of the locks.  I actually think we went through four or more locks in one night.  Our best nights were when the ship docked overnight and then you could still hear the whatever noise was needed to keep the ship powered.

At least this was a continuous, softer type of noise like a white noise.    When the cruise ended, my husband and I asked each other if we thought the benefits that came with the suite outweighed the noise factor and we agreed it did.  We had a private car pick us up and take us to the airport which meant not having to wait for others to board a bus and identify luggage.  We also were able to order breakfast in our room and we did not have to pay for any drinks in the lounge or anywhere else.  Our room was lovely and we had 3 bottles of wine in our cabin and champagne upon arrival.  It was great having floor to ceiling windows in the living room area which allowed us to see both sides of the river as it was a little too cold to sit out on the sundeck.  We had a separate bedroom which also had a large flat screen tv in addition to the one in the living room.  We had different fruit arrangements in our room each day and our cabin steward (butler) left us a sweet treat each day.

I met people on the ship who did complain about the cramped conditions in the other suites but we have sailed with Viking before in one of those suites (verandah) and while we found it small, we felt that it was quite sufficient for our needs.  So, all I can say is that if noise of any type is problematic for you, then you may not want to book an Explorer Suite.